Chapter 3: To the Winner...

“Look! Look!” said the teen girl wearing a spaghetti strap dress that looked like a bunch of quilt pieces stitched together. “Mom, dad, they’re bringing Tommy in from shortstop to get the last out.”

“I see, Nan,” said a woman in a flower-print sundress with a smile and nod of her head. “I’m glad you’re here supporting your brother.”

“He came out for state golf for me,” said Nan with a shrug of her well-defined shoulder blades and delicate neck.

“He did,” said Shelly turning back to the game where the coach and all the infielders crowded onto the mound. The boy with the ball looked angry, smacked it into the hand of the coach, and walked slowly away toward the dugout where the rest of the team stood on their feet clapping.

The crowd of several hundred on their side of the small ballpark shouted out a loud cheer and the boy gave a desultory wave of his hand to acknowledge them.

“That’s Billy Bannis,” said the broad-shouldered man with dark hair sitting next to Shelly and reached across her to tap Nan’s knee. “Sarah is dating his brother, right?”

Nan nodded and looked down to the stands where the cheerleaders were stationed, the varsity girls came out for this important game despite it being on the middle schoolers. “Yeah, he’s going to be pissed tonight at the party. He’s not only an asshole but he’s stupid too. I wish Sarah would dump him already. He’ll be bitching about how the coach is an idiot and Billy should never have been taken out, especially if Tommy doesn’t get the last out.”

“He will,” said the man firmly.

“Steven,” said Shelly with a shake of her head. “You don’t know that.”

Steven looked at his wife and nodded his head, “Trust me, hellcat. Your boy is going to win this thing. Swinging third strike on a slider half a foot out of the zone, just you watch. If Tommy was left-handed, he’d have a chance at the majors.”

Shelly looked over at Nan and shook her head, “Your father always thinks the best is going to happen. You’re lucky I’m more grounded in reality, yes! Strike one!”

“And I’m going to win the U.S. Open one year, right, dad?” said Nan stepping over her mother so as to sit by him. She looped her arm under his and grinned.

“If you take it more seriously, it’s possible. You’ve got the talent but you need to listen to your coach. Your natural swing is a fade, don’t always be trying to hit that power draw. Now a fastball inside at the knees, Tommy. He’ll foul it off and then we’ve got him.”

Nan looked at her mother and grinned, “Dad loves me most!”

Shelly looked at her daughter, “I can’t argue with you on that one. Foul ball! Strike two!”

“C’mon Tommy!” shouted Nan jumping to her feet along with the rest of the crowd. “Strike him out!”

“Now, a high fastball, maybe he’ll chase it,” said Steven holding Nan’s hand as they watched the game unfold below.

“Ball one!” came the cry of the ump.

“That was a strike!” Yelled Shelly pointing her finger at the field. “You’re blind, ump!”

Nan looked up at her father and he shrugged his shoulders, “If you want to correct your mother, feel free. I learned my lesson long ago but I warn you, you might lose an arm. Now, here comes the slider. He’s got to make sure it swings across the plate, looks like a strike, nothing that bounces or starts outside but can’t hang it over the middle either.”

“C’mon, Tommy!” shrieked Nan again as the roar of the crowd grew to a crescendo.

The moon was high in the sky and the smell of barbecue wafted over the entire backyard as a big crowd of people milled around. Half a dozen young boys and girls splashed away in the pool and adults sipped on beers and mixed drinks obtained from the temporary bar managed by a young man and woman.

“Where’s the hero of the day?” said Sarah, still in her cheer uniform, standing with Nan and sipping from a plastic cup. “Do you think if I show a little leg, I can get that cute bartender to pour us a rum and coke?”

“You can show him something and he’ll do it,” said Nancy with a grin and made an hourglass shape with her hands. “Those tits of your will open just about any door.” With that she looked down at her own figure with slim hips and almost no boobs at all. “He’s upstairs taking a shower, I think. He wants to look cute for all his girlfriends.”

“Oh my god! Your mom is going to have to use a firehose on them. They had him surrounded after the game. I didn’t even get a chance to congratulate him.”

Nan laughed, “The hero of the hour. You were right, by the way. He is getting to be quite the cutie. Is he any good at kissing?”

Sarah looked around to a table where a group of older boys stood talking about sports or something and spotted her boyfriend, the hulking Connor Bannis leading the conversation. “It was a couple of chaste smooches in the backseat. I had to distract him while you were trying to jam Brad’s junk in that little kitty of yours. Poor boy would have been traumatized seeing his sister like that.”

Nan grinned and gave Sarah a little sideways glance before continuing, “Your brother’s got a lot of great qualities but for a girl my size, that thing is not healthy. He should date a tall girl with hips, a girl like you.”

“Gross,” said Sarah but not particularly convincingly. “He’s my brother. Anyway, even if I did want to date Brad, I’m with Connor. And if Connor finds out I was in the backseat with your little brother, he might go crazy. He’s so jealous.”

“I think you and Brad would make a good couple, I mean, if you weren’t brother and sister. But, yeah, keeping Tommy alive might be a good thing.”

“Connor is pissed about his little brother not getting to pitch to the last batter. You should have heard him in the car, he was just ranting and raving about how Coach Mendez is a moron and doesn’t know anything about talent.”

“Why do you even put up with him?”

Sarah shrugged, “He’s all right when it’s just the two of us.”

“But he’s so dumb,” said Nan turning to Sarah and lightly brushing a strand of blonde hair away from the girl’s face. “You deserve better.”

Sarah smiled, smoothed the skirt of her uniform, and shook her head, “I’m not exactly the smartest girl in the world. You’re the brains of this operation.”

“That is not true,” said Nan putting her hands on the curvy hips of her friend so they stood face to face, only a few inches apart. “You are smart. Everyone, including your stupid dad, keeps saying you’re just a pretty face. It’s not true, even if you want to believe it. You get straight A’s.”

“I don’t take those A.P. classes like you. I take the dummy classes. I guess I’m okay at memorizing a bunch of stuff but I’ll never be smart. A guy like Connor is as good as I can do. He’s going to get a scholarship to college, maybe even play pro. At worst he’ll be a coach somewhere and that’s a good job.”

“You don’t have to rely on some guy for money. I wish you’d take the A.P. classes with me next year. I’d help you get up to speed. They messed you up way back in grade school when they put in the slow classes. Everyone thought you were just a pretty girl.”

“I am just a pretty girl,” said Sarah and stuck out her chest.

“Yes, you’re a pretty girl, you’re a beautiful woman, but you’re smart too. It’d take some work to get you caught up but if we go at it hard all summer you can do it. Dad has me in golf camp but that’s only in the mornings. Mom wants me to enroll in an evening college prep course. Take it with me, please! I’ll help you. All you have to do is catch up a little. It’s the same stuff but we’re just a little further along.”

“I don’t know,” said Sarah shaking her head. “Connor says his dad has got a place in Florida we could go for a few weeks.”

“Oh god, getting high and drunk in Florida with Connor and his friends. Sounds awful. Still, it’s your life, Sarah. It’s up to you,” said Nancy giving her a long hug at the end of her speech. “I believe you can do it. And after next year we go to college together.”

Sarah shrugged, “This is all so you can stay near Brad, right?”

Nancy frowned, “No, I told you. If it bothers you, I’m done with Brad.”

“I’m sorry, I overreacted,” said Sarah and then broke into a huge grin as Tommy came out the kitchen door and waved to a group of his friends hanging out near the back fence. He looked around and spotted two the girls. He immediately changed his direction and came over.

Sarah gave him a huge hug when he arrived and then kiss on the cheek, “Congratulations, champ!”

Tommy blushed and ran his fingers through his hair, “We’re not champs yet. We just made it to the final four. Nan said she was going to come watch, it’s next weekend. Will you come too?” This last he said as he went over and put his arm around his sister’s waist. They were almost the same height at just over five feet but he was obviously broader now as his shoulders were taking shape.

Nan nodded, “It’ll be fun. Mom and dad’ll get a hotel room. We can stay in one room and squirt here will stay with the team.”

“I’ve got to go see my friends. Are you going to stay?” he asked looking up at Sarah. The girl was several inches taller than him.

“Do you want me to stay?” she asked with a little smirk.

Tommy nodded and grinned, “I might need you to stop Connor from beating me like a first level goblin.”

“No other reason you want me to stay?” said Sarah with a grin and licked her lips.

Tommy brushed his long hair away from his face but kept eye contact with the girl two years his senior, “Lots of other reasons.” Then he spotted Connor Bannis stalking over with a scowl on his face. “Gotta go!”

“What’s a first level goblin?” said Sarah looking at her best friend.

Nan shrugged, “Nerd stuff.”

“Hey, Nan the Banana,” said the hulking athlete when he arrived. He stood at least a foot taller than the petite girl and was twice as broad if not more.

“That doesn’t even make sense,” said Nan with a roll of her eyes.

“Because the only thing a titless twerp like you can get to fuck her is a banana,” said the boy putting his arm around Sarah.

“Clever,” said Nan.

“Clever,” repeated Connor in a high-pitched voice. “C’mon Sarah, I’ve got a bottle stashed.”

Sarah looked at Nan with an expression of apology and then walked off with her arm around the waist of the young man.

Nan went over to where two grills were set up on the lawn. Her father stood with an apron around his waist, a silly barbecue hat on his head, and a pair of tongs in one hand and a bottle of dark beer with words in some foreign language written on it in the other. Several of the other fathers were there as well, all with their own beers with the main topic of conversation being the required amount of time necessary before turning various cuts of meat.

“You’ll want to do those bratwursts before the burgers, you got those thick cuts. Steaks last,” said one of the men who smiled when he spotted Nancy. “Steven, your little golfer is here.”

“Heya, 9-iron,” said Steven putting his free arm around her waist. “Meatless burgers on the top rack over there. Should be done in a few. Is your brother down yet?”

Nan nodded, “He’s over there with his friends talking about something stupid.”

“Be nice,” said Steven and turned back to the grill.

“If I’m not mean to him today, he’ll get a big head. Everyone is telling him he’s a hero.”

“Your brother’s head is just fine. Be nice to him. He pitched very well.”

“Can I have one of mom’s White Claws?”

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow and tilted his head.

“I’m at home, I’m not driving anywhere.”

“If I let you have one, all your friends will want one too.”

“Dad, give me a break. Half of them brought their own bottles and they’re putting it in their soda.”

“Nope, I’m sorry, sweetie but there are other parents here with their kids. When it’s just us, I don’t mind. Learning to drink responsibly is important before you head off to college. Not tonight.”

Nan pouted and blinked her big brown eyes.

The other men laughed.

“No is no. Now, go find your brother and tell him to get over here and help me grill. He’s as much the host tonight as me.”

“Fine,” said Nan and flounced off with a wiggle of her butt for the older men to watch.

“She’s a saucy one,” said one of the fellows with a grin. “A lot of trouble brewing there.”

“Nah,” said Steven. “She’s a good girl. Smart as a whip and if she takes golf camp seriously this summer, she’ll be able to pick her school. There were recruiters all over her golf team this past season. She played number two but she really should have been number one. A lot of those southern colleges want the best golfers but I think she’s off the south for a while. Maybe Ivy League.”

“Political?” said one of the men. “My daughter drives me nuts with this Woke crap. I mean, I’m not against being reasonable but some of it...”

“Yeah,” said Steven. “It’s her life, her decision. Me and the missus raised independent kids and that comes with good and bad.”

“I’d keep mine under lock and key if it was legal,” said another man.

“They have to leave eventually, better they learn the consequences of bad decisions when they’re sixteen as opposed to twenty-five.”

“Speaking of bad decisions, I think your brat is burning.”

“Damn it,” said Steven racing forward to the left grill with the tongs extended.

“Hey, Tommy!” called out a slight boy wearing glasses and holding a soda in his right hand. He wore a button-up shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. He was standing with several other boys and girls near the patio. “Great game!”

“Thanks, Jace. I got lucky on that third strike. I got too much of the plate but he missed it somehow.”

A couple of young girls, one tall and gawky with round glasses and the other chubby with a bright smile immediately came over to the group and started talking.

Not long after a woman came by, she was rather short, not much taller than Tommy and shorter than all the girls. She wore a paisley print dress and had wide hips. “Congratulations, Mr. Bloom,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you, Miss Clemons,” said Tommy and smiled.

“You pitched very well; they do call it pitching right?”

The other kids snickered and looked at each other.

“Relief pitching but yeah, pitching,” he suddenly remembered his sister’s advice and gave her a quick glance from top to bottom. “I like those shoes; they match your belt.”

The woman put her hand to her cheek with a smile, “Oh, why thank you, Tommy. That’s very nice of you to notice.” Her hand went to her hair where a few strands came out from the loose bun and she played with them for a moment. “Well, I’ll leave you kids to celebrate. Don’t forget your homework for Monday.”

“I won’t, Miss Clemons,” said Tommy and watched her walk away while still talking with his friends. She turned back and looked at him, her hand once again going to her hair, and then she walked over to a group of adults.

“Wow,” murmured Tommy to himself. “It even works on teachers.” Then he thought of Sarah and her cheer outfit. Her firm body, an immediate erection began so he turned back to his friends and noted what all the girls were wearing.

Soon the little group conversed in lively tones as the party went on around them and more of the younger crowd emerged and joined them.

“Come on,” said Connor pulling Sarah by the hand toward the far end of the backyard where a series of bushes and a small tree hid a shed. Another boy, this one also wearing letterman jacket tagged along just behind with a big grin on his face.